ASU poll-bound; Carpenter potty-mouthed
September 23rd, 2007, 7:16 am · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Zeiger
Quarterback Rudy Carpenter had some downs on Saturday, but many more ups. (Darryl Webb/Tribune)
Arizona State’s victory against Oregon State on Saturday has landed the Sun Devils in the top 25 of both major polls. ASU is 23rd in the Associated Press poll and 25th (tied with Purdue) in the USA Today (coaches) rankings released on Sunday.
It is ASU’s first AP ranking since Sept. 17. 2006, when it was 3-0 and No. 22 after a 21-3 win at Colorado. The Sun Devils were drilled at California the following week and fell out of the poll.
Also, Dennis Erickson is the first ASU coach to have his team in the AP rankings in his first year in Tempe, according to research by the school’s athletic media relations office.
Dirk Koetter’s first ranking was on Oct. 20, 2002, his second season, after a win at sixth-ranked Oregon vaulted the Sun Devils to No. 23.
Bruce Snyder had ASU in the rankings for one week in 1993, his second year. The Sun Devils reached No. 23 with a 1-0 record, then exited the rankings after a loss at Louisville.
Larry Marmie’s team was not ranked until Sept. 23, 1991, his third year, after a 32-25 win at Southern California lifted ASU to a 2-0 record and No. 24 status. The Sun Devils lost to Nebraska, 18-9, the next week.
John Cooper did not reach the rankings until his second year, on Sept. 16, 1986, when ASU entered the poll at No. 18 and never left en route to a Rose Bowl victory and a final No. 4 ranking. Darryl Rogers’ team did not get ranked until his second year, when it was 20th in the preseason. Frank Kush’s team was not represented in the poll until 1960, his third season, when it reached No. 18 on Oct. 10.
“We were never ranked under (Dan) Devine, from what I can tell,” media relations director Doug Tammaro wrote in an e-mail to reporters. “But (that was) when the AP poll hardly had any western teams.”
Clink!
That sound was of quarterback Rudy Carpenter making a deposit in the swear jar after his postgame interview with Craig Grialou of KTAR radio.
Of course, the audio clip has found its way to YouTube. Enjoy; just make sure the kids are — as Vince Vaughn’s character in the movie “Old School” would say — wearing their earmuffs.
My bad: Carpenter made so many plays after scrambling around on Saturday that it was tough to keep track of them all, especially with a deadline looming minutes after the game ended.
Carpenter did not fumble on his 64-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jones early in the second quarter, as I mistakenly wrote in my story in Sunday’s Tribune. That happened on a 33-yard pass to tight end Tyrice Thompson late in the period, a drive that culminated in a field goal.
